Local government finance, a cross-cutting issue for CSCN
Since its inception, the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) has prioritized local government finance as a key element in empowering local authorities to deliver effective and sustainable services to their citizens. In the post-Covid global context local governments are being asked to do more than ever. They are expected to help drive infrastructure delivery, service improvement, local economic development and climate resilience, often in contexts where the systems that shape how they access and use finance are not aligned with those responsibilities.
Urban Finance Action Group (UFAG)
Within this context CLGF has been working with its members and partners to build capacity, knowlege and advocacy on urban finance. Convened under the Commonwealth Sustainable Cities Coalition, the Urban Finance Action Group brings together local government leaders, local government associations, technical experts and partner organisations to examine the urban finance gap and consider practical pathways for strengthening local government finance across the Commonwealth.
Members of the Urban Finance Action Group
• Astrid R.N. Haas – UFAG Research Expert
• Darren Crombie – Rep. of Commonwealth Association of Planners (CAP), Australia
• David Jackson – Expert, Resident Fellow, Local Government Finance, NYU Center on International Cooperation (CIC)
• Hemanthi Goonasekera – CEO, Federation of Sri Lankan Local Government Authorities (FSLGA)
• Jeanette Amom – Service Head, FEICOM, Cameroon
• Mayor Kanungwe Chota –Mayor of Kanchibiya, Zambia; Vice President, Local Government Association of Zambia (LGAZ)
• Mayor Richard Vernon – Mayor, Montego Bay, Jamaica
• Philip Clifford & Dominic Rowles – Local Government Association (England & Wales)
• Richard Okuku – Secretary General, Uganda Local Governments Association (ULGA), Uganda
• Sithole Mbanga – CEO South African Local Government Associatoin (SALGA), South Africa
• Tebogo Matlou – South African Local Government Association (SALGA), South Africa
• Tikender Panwar – Local Government Expert | former Deputy Mayor of Shimla, India
CLGF Team
• Lucy Slack - Secretary General (UK)
• Claire Frost - Head of Programmes (UK)
• Janine Xavier-Cross - Networks Manager (Trinidad & Tobago)
• Joyce Ekuful - West & Central Africa Programme Manager
Tools and resources
Below you will find a mix of tools and knowledge products on urban finance. The CSCN will continue to develop and disseminate tools designed to support local govenment actors and their partners at country, regional and cross-Commonwealth level.
Research Reports
Policy briefs and Recommendations
- Recommendations brief: Finance Where It Matters - Practical pathways for local government finance
- Recommendations note by audience: Finance Where It Matters - Practical pathways for local government finance
Case Studies
- Mobilising Domestic Capital for City Infrastructure: How Belize Developed a Municipal Bond Market
- From Equalisation to Adaptation: How FEICOM is Positioning Cameroon's Municipal Finance Institution for Climate Action
- Operationalising Land Value Capture Through Land Readjustment: Lessons from Kigali, Rwanda
- The Tanzania Tanga Bond: A first in Local Government Finance for Development
- Building an Urban Policy from the Ground Up: How Kerala Developed a State Urban Policy and What It Means for Municipal Finance
Webinars
🔹5 August 2026: The Urban Finance Gap: Practical pathways for local government finance across the Commonwealth
Local governments are expected to deliver more than ever, but the systems that shape access to finance are often not aligned with what delivery requires. Hosted by CLGF through the CSCN, this webinar will explore the critical findings of the research paper developed through the Urban Finance Action Group (UFAG) under the Commonwealth Sustainable Cities Coalition, and identify practical pathways to strengthen local government finance across the Commonwealth.
If you are interested in attending, please register using the link here: https://forms.gle/52d6XnkckUvbDGBV8
